The official decision by the Anaheim Ducks to match the Leo Carlsson offer sheet ended speculation about the hottest topic in the NHL.
While the speculation ended, the work has just begun for GM Pat Verbeek.
Matching the Philadelphia Flyers’ offer put the Ducks in a pickle. They’ll now have Carlsson’s $18 million cap hit on their books this upcoming season.
And that’s just the thing. The bind will be for this season only. Next year, the cap ceiling will rise again. That situation should give the Ducks some much-needed breathing room.
Now, if it were just taking on the Carlsson offer sheet this year, the Ducks wouldn’t really be in a problem. The major ramifications of the whole situation are that forward Cutter Gauthier needs a new contract.
Gauthier remains an RFA. The organization would have already signed him by now. However, the offer sheet situation likely gummed up the works. With about $9 million in cap space, the Ducks will have to figure out what to do about Gauthier.
Since letting Gauthier go is a non-negotiable, Anaheim will have to figure out where to clear cap space to accommodate Gauthier’s next contract.
Carlsson Offer Sheet Vaporized Ducks’ Cap Space
In an ideal world, the Ducks wouldn’t have had to deal with the Carlsson offer sheet. They would have signed their franchise forward for about $12 million AAV, and called it a day. That cap hit would have allowed the organization to easily sign Pavel Mintyukov and Gauthier.
Then again, shouldn’t $9 million be enough to lock up Gauthier?
That’s just the thing. Some pundits estimate that the 22-year-old could fetch as much as $12 million on the open market. That seems like a fair number for a 40-goal scorer. That’s why the Ducks don’t have enough cap space to fit Gauthier’s new contract. Unless Verbeek can get really creative, the solution here will be to dump a veteran contract to open up enough room.
So, Verbeek has just set himself up for a fleecing. Whoever he manages to move out, he can hardly expect to get anything meaningful in return. Other teams know he’s desperate for cap space following the Carlsson offer sheet. So, they’ll surely try to take advantage of him any way they can.
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Ducks Will Have to Get Creative
The idea of paying another team to take a good player off their hands isn’t something the Ducks will entertain for long. So, the organization will have to get creative to make room for Gauthier’s new contract.
One way out would be to sign him on a one-year deal for, say, $9 million, and then reconvene at some point during the season. The Ducks and Gauthier’s team might even work out a handshake deal where it’s $9 million this year, and then a much more lucrative deal next season when the cap rises again.
If that doesn’t work, the two sides may find themselves in a stalemate. Gauthier’s camp may not back down from their demands. After all, it wasn’t their fault that the Carlsson offer sheet happened.
For now, the Ducks are not in any hurry. Verbeek has the rest of the summer to figure out what to do. Nevertheless, he can’t afford to let the Gauthier situation leak into the season. The promising forward needs to be signed in advance of training camp. Otherwise, another Mason McTavish situation could unfold.
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